The invention relates generally to media distribution systems, and more particularly to enforcement of agreements between media asset owners and media distributors for delivery of media assets to end consumers.
The delivery of audio-visual media is well known and in widespread use. Among the most common means for delivering such media to end consumers are community access television (CATV), often referred to as “cable TV,” and more recently, internet provider television (IPTV). Typically broadcasters and other media owners transmit media content according to a programming schedule. Media content, such as television shows, is presented to viewers at a prescribed time according to the programming schedule.
When viewers or media consumers are unable to watch a given show at the scheduled broadcast time, they typically miss the show, or either have to wait for a re-broadcast of the show, or record the show and watch it at a more convenient time. Video recording devices for home use are often used to time shift a selected show so the viewer can watch the show at a later, more convenient time. This, or course, requires the viewer to have a video recording device, and to be able to set up and operate the device. Some people may find the cost of purchasing a video recording device to be prohibitive. Others may find the set up and programming of such devices to be difficult, particularly if the device has to be re-programmed after it loses power. Furthermore, recording broadcast media doesn't alleviate other issues, such as when there are issues in the broadcast resulting in loss of picture or audio, as can occasionally happen.
To address the problems associated with viewer-operated video recording equipment, some media distributors have developed so called “video on-demand” (VOD) services. VOD allows a customer to select a media asset, such as a television show or episode, to view at a convenient time. Media assets are made available by the service provider pursuant to agreements with the asset owners. In early VOD service the asset content that was made available was older content that may have been broadcast more than once by the time it was made available for VOD service, or had been available in other venues previously. This was due to the fact that asset owners, while having legal agreements in place, had little to no direct control of the asset once it was in the hands of the distributor, and so asset owners were hesitant to allow more recent content be made available. Since then other solutions have been contemplated which provide some control over assets for VOD, such as including lifecycle instructions in metadata of a given asset when the asset is transmitted into a broadcast network for broadcast to end viewers. The asset owners can then dictate usage conditions such as lifecycle management via the metadata, relying on distributors to implement appropriate systems to recognize and conform to the lifecycle instructions.
While including lifecycle instructions in the metadata allows asset owners to dictate a measure of control over a given asset, it is still dependent on media distributors' system design. Each asset requires the distributor's system to examine the lifecycle instructions for that asset and determine whether the asset can be provided for VOD viewing. Content owners would prefer more control and flexibility with regard to asset lifecycle management for VOD purposes. Accordingly, there is a need for a means by which asset owners can more closely control asset usage at the distributor's system.